https://www.scmp.com/rss/328444/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Christmas is a festival celebrating Christ’s birth. This statement is by no means a revelation. But to many in China, who welcome Santa Claus as much as they embrace Colonel Sanders, the origin of Christmas remains unfamiliar. That’s because while many Chinese cities and their young, urban dwellers do celebrate Christmas, what the occasion means to them has been shaped by vastly different circumstances, both historical and contemporary, from their Western counterparts. Officially atheist The... https://www.scmp.com/china-translated/china-translated-does-china-celebrate-christmas/article/2178318?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china-translated/china-translated-does-china-celebrate-christmas/article/2178318?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Dec 2018 10:30:15 +0000 How to provide health care for millions of people is a question that has vexed countries and governments around the world. It’s a modern notion, but nowadays we take for granted the idea that people have the right to access health services, regardless of their wealth or social standing. We also demand that the government play some role in keeping people healthy. Americans have been arguing about whether medical insurance should be mandatory. In the UK, people are more worried that their... https://www.scmp.com/health/china-translated-does-china-have-universal-health-care/article/2167579?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/health/china-translated-does-china-have-universal-health-care/article/2167579?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Oct 2018 09:45:00 +0000 Is China a democracy? To answer the question, an obvious place to start would be a dictionary, where you can find the textbook definition of democracy. Regardless of which dictionary you pick up, you’re likely to find democracy loosely defined as a system of government by all members of a state. A country governed under such a system is said to be a democracy. The definition of democracy can be fuzzy, but there’s one thing we know for sure: that China officially wants it. In China’s... https://www.scmp.com/china-translated/china-democracy/article/2163522?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china-translated/china-democracy/article/2163522?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Sep 2018 11:00:30 +0000 Where does China stand on climate change? We know China is the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases globally. We know that a lot of that comes from factories that make steel, electronics and clothes for the rest of the world. We know that even after Donald Trump walked out of the historic Paris climate change agreement last year, China is still willing to stay in the game. What else do we need to know? Starting from Tuesday, we’re partnering with COAL+ICE, an exhibition in San Francisco that runs... https://www.scmp.com/china-translated/china-translated-where-does-china-stand-climate-change/article/2162728?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china-translated/china-translated-where-does-china-stand-climate-change/article/2162728?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Sep 2018 10:15:00 +0000 In 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a speech so long that when he was done and returned to his seat, his predecessor, Hu Jintao, gestured at his watch. In the 3.5-hour-long report, delivered at a once-every-five-years gathering of the ruling Communist Party, few words were said as often as “socialism.” But it wasn’t just any socialism. Out of the 73 mentions of “socialism” in Xi’s report, 59 of them were really “socialism with Chinese characteristics.” And here’s the first thing you need... https://www.scmp.com/china-translated/china-translated-china-socialist/article/2161467?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china-translated/china-translated-china-socialist/article/2161467?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Aug 2018 10:45:30 +0000 To truly know a single person is hard enough. So how do you take the pulse of an entire country? Now, imagine doing that using just one word. If you think about it, that’s what the labels “developing country” and “developed country” do. Late former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, put it plainly and qualitatively: “A developed country is one that allows all its citizens to enjoy a free and healthy life in a safe environment.” Scholars came up with these labels to... https://www.scmp.com/china/is-china-a-developed-country-long-and-better-answer/article/2160430?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/is-china-a-developed-country-long-and-better-answer/article/2160430?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Aug 2018 10:45:15 +0000 President Donald Trump was right when he said last week that China’s currency was “dropping like a rock.” The Chinese currency, called renminbi or the yuan, has lost so much of its value against the US dollar that it was the worst performing major currency this month. Then, the next day, Trump accused China of manipulating the currency to keep it weak against the dollar. By cheapening the yuan, the argument goes, China makes the goods it sells abroad more competitive against other countries,... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-currency-manipulator-its-complicated/article/2156490?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-currency-manipulator-its-complicated/article/2156490?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Jul 2018 10:15:15 +0000